CHAPTER 5
The Hennepin County Family Courtroom was quiet at three-forty-five PM, the heavy mahogany doors muffling the distant sounds of downtown Minneapolis traffic outside.
Joshua was already sitting at the petitioner's table, flanked by his high-priced corporate defense attorney, a slick man named Marcus Hayes who looked like he had never lost an argument in his life.
When I walked in wearing a simple black tailored dress, accompanied by Daniel Whitmore, Joshua's eyes widened in brief surprise.
He stood up, adjusting his silver tie, throwing me a practiced, patronizing smile as he stepped toward the aisle.
"Gretchen, what is this?" Joshua whispered, eyeing Daniel's immaculate suit. "I thought we agreed we didn't need high-priced litigators for a simple, uncontested dissolution."
"Plans change, Joshua," I replied softly, sitting down at the respondent's table without looking at him again.
Judge Eleanor Vance took the bench at four o'clock sharp, her sharp gaze sweeping over the courtroom as she adjusted her reading glasses.
"We are here in the matter of Miller vs. Miller," Judge Vance announced, her voice echoing clearly off the wood-paneled walls. "Counsel, I understand we have a fully executed marital termination agreement to present for final approval?"
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Marcus Hayes stood up proudly, holding a thick leather folder—the exact same gray binder I had found on Joshua's desk that morning.
"Yes, Your Honor," Hayes said smoothly. "My client and Mrs. Miller have reached an amicable, full settlement regarding all real property, liquid assets, and spousal support."
